As Ghana prepares for today’s Mid-Year Budget Review, a recurring concern among traders in the informal sector is that many of the government’s economic policy announcements remain inaccessible because of the technical language used to communicate them.
While budget statements are intended to outline government priorities, fiscal performance and policy adjustments for the entire economy, many traders say the presentations often appear to be directed primarily at economists, financial analysts and the formal business community, leaving millions of informal sector operators struggling to understand what the announcements actually mean for their businesses.
The concern arises when the informal sector remains the backbone of Ghana’s economy, accounting for the majority of employment and contributing significantly to trade, household incomes, and domestic commerce. Yet many traders say they only learn about major budget decisions through media interpretations or conversations long after the Finance Minister has presented the statement.
For many of them, terms such as “fiscal consolidation”, “primary balance”, “debt restructuring”, “revenue mobilisation”, “fiscal deficit”, “disinflation”, “expenditure rationalisation” and “macroeconomic stability” offer little practical meaning without clear explanations of how they affect taxes, transport fares, import costs, prices of goods or access to credit.
Maame Akosua, a trader at Madina Market, said that although government decisions directly affect her business, she often finds it difficult to follow budget presentations because of the complex language.
“We always hear the Finance Minister speaking, but most of the words are too difficult for ordinary traders to understand. We are unfamiliar with the meanings of many of the economic terms they use. At the end of the day, we only ask people what the budget means for prices and our businesses,” she said.
She said traders want government communication to be more practical and relatable.
“Tell us in simple language whether transport will go up, whether taxes on goods are changing, whether loans for small businesses will become easier to access or whether our cost of doing business will reduce. Those are the things we understand and can plan around.”
According to her, simplifying budget communication would enable more traders to support government policies and make informed business decisions.
“The government always says everyone has a role to play in developing the country. We agree with that, but we first need to understand what is being said. If the explanations are simple, more people will appreciate the policies and cooperate.”
The call highlights a broader communication gap between policymakers and the informal economy. Although successive governments have emphasised financial inclusion and broad stakeholder participation, the technical nature of many national economic presentations continues to limit engagement among ordinary citizens.
Economic decisions announced during the budget influence virtually every aspect of commercial activity, from inflation and exchange rates to import duties, taxation and public spending. However, unless those policies are translated into a language that people can easily understand, many traders say they remain passive observers rather than active participants in implementing national development objectives.
As Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson presents the Mid-Year Budget Review today, traders are urging the government to complement the formal parliamentary presentation with simplified summaries in local languages and plain English through radio, television and digital platforms.
They believe making economic policies easier to understand would strengthen public confidence, improve compliance with government measures and ensure that both the formal and informal sectors are equally equipped to contribute to Ghana’s economic recovery and long-term development.
